dealing with cold

[Martiangod]

Hypothermia is always an issue, when being out in the cold, not all the homeless are in cali or florida.
Years ago was building my nefews house out of town, sleeping in unfinished basment with no heat. I tell ya when winter
set in, even with my tent heater, i was freezing.
One night i looked around for what i had and i had the idea to put a sheet of 2" blue styrofoam
under my air mattress. Was snug and warm and the persistant shivering ended. With trailering, when we go winter camping,
foam under bed and foam at our seating area to put feet on....ya gotta try this one.
Incorporating foam into the floor on a shelter would go a long way for survival

[mikeschn]

Chris,

I put insulation inbetween the floor joists and the floor plywood.

Then I threw a piece of carpet padding on top of the floor. So far I think it's working.

The idea of throwing a 2" piece of foam on top of the floor is a very good one, but the problem is, it's so soft, it gets dinged up really quick.

Mike...

[GPW]

Likely you’ll want a floor covering of some type over the bare cold floor , perhaps a simple inexpensive straw floor mat over the foam would lessen the dinging and hide any that did happen ... even warmer too...

[aggie79]

The idea of throwing a 2" piece of foam on top of the floor is a very good one, but the problem is, it's so soft, it gets dinged up really quick.

Mike...

What do you think about using those foam snap-togther exercise mats as an internal flooring to keep the chill off? Plus spills can be wiped clean on this surface compared to a rug or carpet.

[mikeschn]

I use those snap together pad on the floor in the basement. Very comfortable on the feet.

They would work well as a way to reduce the convection between the human body and the plywood floor. But in your photo, isn't that what the 4" foam mattress in a teardrop is for?

In a pod, if carpet padding was not available, I think those snap together pads would be good. I think they are like $20 for 4 squares.

Mike...

[aggie79]

I use those snap together pad on the floor in the basement. Very comfortable on the feet.

They would work well as a way to reduce the convection between the human body and the plywood floor. But in your photo, isn't that what the 4" foam mattress in a teardrop is for?

In a pod, if carpet padding was not available, I think those snap together pads would be good. I think they are like $20 for 4 squares.

Mike...

Mike,

I owe you an apology. I didn't read your post correctly. You said you used "carpet padding". I didn't pick up the "padding" part. I think that carpet padding is an excellent material - and much less expensive - to reduce the convection.

Take care,
Tom

[wyldesyde007]

Hey, remember these old school zippo hand warmers? I remember these little bad boys putting off some decent heat and they burned for like 12 hours and were apparently safe enough to keep in you pocket! You could use two of them, place them in a wooden pocket on the wall with a small vent hole to the outside and open slots on the top and bottom, the heat from the units would convect fresh air in and pull internal air from the bottom and pass warmed air through the top. Doing the fresh air passing through the heater area would cut down on the cold drafts and allow cleanish air in.


Ok I gave up trying to attach the picture you guys know what I'm talking about

[mikeschn]

I've seen those zippo hand warmers on the internet. Never had one. Someone need to share their experience with them!

Tom, I think those pads would be more durable than say, pink foam board... Agreed on the convection part!

Mike...

[Westcliffe01]

Mike, I "live" in my blind enough (in pursuit of coyotes at the crack of dawn) to know the issues with cold ... The "season" starts in late October and continues through to May, so all the way through winter ! I often sleep overnight in the blind, typically Fri/Sat night since regardless how careful I am, it is too easy to be "busted" by the coyotes by sound/smell even in the complete darkness before dawn when I walk in on the farm.

If there was any way to provide electricity, that would obviously be the safest and at this scale, the cheapest way to heat the pod. I have 3 Minipins which are not equipped with fur that is suitable for MI winters so I have built them their own insulated pod with picture window and doggie door and it is about 3'x3'x6' long. I have tried all manner of heaters and settled on a radiant panel heater that is typically used for reptiles that is screwed to the roof of the pod and radiates down freely from above.

The one I use is this one (bear in mind the size of the enclosure)
http://cozywinters.com/shop/tcl.html


It is $75, rated at 150w (electricity consumption for a winter would be minimal in cost) and the heat output can be controlled by a dimmer type control or by a thermostat that the unit plugs directly into: http://cozywinters.com/shop/win100-thermostat.html


Depending on how many pods there are, these radiant heaters only draw slightly over 1.3A each. I figure that for the larger pod, 2 of them would probably be sufficient at less than 3A at full power. Perhaps combined with a low power LED light and suitably tamper proofed, one could have heat and light for 3 pods from a 10A outlet.

Even if it does not produce a 70F indoor temperature, this type of heater would certainly solve damp and condensation issues and make a great difference in quality of life compared to a cold box covered in condensation from breathing.

I did camp in Colorado at 8000ft this last summer and it rained every afternoon and the campsite sloped in 2 different directions, so tenting was miserable. I ended up sleeping in the back of the truck bed (it has a camper shell) and it was a lot more comfortable than being on the damp uneven ground (I could park the truck so it was always level). It got down close to freezing every night due to altitude and clear skies so being off the ground was not a bad thing either. But I will say that the inside of the camper shell was covered in condensation every morning and took most of the day to dry out. Given that my truck is gas powered, I was too intimidated to attempt any form of heating under the truck cap and there was no electricity for tent campers either...

[mikeschn]

Good thoughts Westcliffe...

Mike...

[Martiangod]

Are they allowed fire? Outside, to warm water. a $ 4 hot water bottle in a sleeping bag is amazing